History
The term "Chief Apostle" was first used officially to describe Jesus Christ in the New Covenant Scriptures, Book of Hebrews, Chapter 3, verse 1, where he is also called the High Priest. As far as the controversies regarding which of the remaining 11, then 12 and then more apostles after that which includes then Saul, later called Paul, Scripture itself does not say. It may very well have been that they continued to follow the Messiah as their head. Indeed that is what the Bible itself promotes.
The following are other views on chief apostles and the religions that therefore must flow out of those beliefs. One system in common use today is used by Messsianic apostles who believe James "the Just" was Chief Apostle, in Jerusalem, following Jesus (they use the Hebrew form of his name, Y'shua, in various spellings) return to his Father in Heaven. A similar system is used by Catholic churches worldwide, varying from Roman Catholics, to Anglican Catholics, to Coptic, Russian etc. Each with a differing view on who is, or was, a Chief Apostle originally, and sometimes, even now.
A similar view introduced by minister Friedrich Krebs and can be compared to the one Apostle Peter had 2,000 years ago amongst the original Apostles (He is seen as the first Chief Apostle in the early church). Before Krebs introduced it, the title was already used in the Catholic Apostolic Church, however with a completely different meaning (as the German word "Stamm" means "tribe" and was used to describe the working areas (=tribes) of the apostles).
Former Chief Apostles:
| Name | Birth-Death | Birthplace | Place of Death | Working Period |
| Friedrich Krebs | 1832–1905 | Elend (Harz) (Germany) | Braunschweig (Germany) | 1895–1905 |
| Hermann Niehaus | 1848–1932 | Steinhagen (Germany) | Quelle (Germany) | 1905–1930 |
| Johann Gottfried Bischoff | 1871–1960 | Unter-Mossau (Germany) | Karlsruhe (Germany) | 1930–1960 |
| Walter Schmidt | 1891–1981 | Neuemühle (Germany) | Dortmund (Germany) | 1960–1975 |
| Ernst Streckeisen | 1905–1978 | St. Gallen (Switzerland) | Cape Town (South Africa) | 1975–1978 |
| Hans Urwyler | 1925–1994 | Spiegel (Switzerland) | Bern (Switzerland) | 1978–1988 |
| Richard Fehr | 1938 - | Flaach (Switzerland) | -- | 1988–2005 |
| Wilhelm Leber | 1947 - | Herford (Germany) | -- | 2005 - |
Read more about this topic: Chief Apostle
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“The thing that struck me forcefully was the feeling of great age about the place. Standing on that old parade ground, which is now a cricket field, I could feel the dead generations crowding me. Here was the oldest settlement of freedmen in the Western world, no doubt. Men who had thrown off the bands of slavery by their own courage and ingenuity. The courage and daring of the Maroons strike like a purple beam across the history of Jamaica.”
—Zora Neale Hurston (1891–1960)
“One classic American landscape haunts all of American literature. It is a picture of Eden, perceived at the instant of history when corruption has just begun to set in. The serpent has shown his scaly head in the undergrowth. The apple gleams on the tree. The old drama of the Fall is ready to start all over again.”
—Jonathan Raban (b. 1942)
“Jesus Christ belonged to the true race of the prophets. He saw with an open eye the mystery of the soul. Drawn by its severe harmony, ravished with its beauty, he lived in it, and had his being there. Alone in all history he estimated the greatness of man.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)